Would you or
@Juxtaposer clue me in to why we should be so hot to trot over Trouba?
Do not get me wrong, I am not saying I think he is a bad player, or would not be an upgrade on current Braun. It just seems like the idea that he would single handedly make our defense mediocre to top 5 seems like a rather strong opinion. Jux seems pretty high on the kid too.
From my POV I see a young D-man, who has a career high 33 points. Has decent possession stats on a stacked team. Has managed to play one full season in 5 years for whatever reason. Is not super physical, but certainly not a slouch in that department. Plus has already had very public contract disputes twice (if I'm not mistaken), which although is not solely his fault, still sort of turns me off to him a little. He seems sort of slightly above average, not some stud, like it feels you are implying.
What am I missing? Or am I reading your comments as being higher on him than you actually are.
Yeah our team is no slouch, its just missing that stud player to really help push us over the top. There is hope, if some guys like Hertl, Meier, Labanc can take big steps forward this year. Kane fits like a glove with the Joes and smashes his career high. Along with some sort of resurgence from Thornton because he has had less wear and tear on his body overall last year.
I am not overly optimistic we get to a cup, but I also do not think we have no chance.
I like your lines overall. I just wish Labanc had a better history with Tierney, because he is not going to hang well if Hertl/Cooch are ridden hard as the shut down line again. If Deboer does a better job spreading that responsibility around, then yeah Labanc certainly showed some chemistry with those two offensively, and their possession stats as a line were pretty good.
I still advocate for Hertl to play with the Joes, as I think they need him more then ever, to do the heavy lifting along the boards, that Thornton would have done in the past. Also Hertl has shown his best offensive potential with Thornton, by a country mile, so Hertl benefits big time as well.
That leaves Kane to play with Cooch, and I feel like Labanc might fit better with those two, in a more offensive role, where Labanc can really shine as a playmaker and puck distributor. None of those three play a cycle game, so their styles mesh better than with Hertl, who looks to set up the cycle, while neither of Labanc or Cooch really play strongly along the boards.
So yeah, I like your lines, and actually expect those to be the opening lines, outside of maybe Meier and Labanc swapping, so although I would do things a little differently, I would not be upset if they go with your lines there.